Redeeming the Day
by AmandaFaye
Summary: Captain Gregg takes a quiet moment on the fifth anniversary of the Muirs' arrival to share what their coming means to him.


**All cast members belong to the estate of R.A. Dick and to Fox studios. Thanks to Mary for all her help. **

**September 21, 1973, Twilight**

The day had ended, the children and Martha were watching _Bringing Up Baby_ on television, and the handful of trusted friends who had shared the day were back in their own homes or haunts. Stars were just beginning to dot the blue turning black sky. All was right with the world Carolyn Muir saw as she stood on the balcony, looking out over the sea behind Gull Cottage.

"The night is almost as lovely as you, my dear," a low rumble said close to her ear as Daniel Gregg's spirit appeared beside her. "I have poured the Madeira, if you care to step back inside." A breeze ruffled her hair, and she shivered, but perhaps it was from being so close to this handsome man. Whether it was or not, a moment later, a precious shawl appeared in his hands and he draped it around her snugly. "Can't have you catching a chill. Come on, love. There is a surprise waiting."

"How can I resist an invitation like that?" she smiled, finally speaking. As she re-entered the Master Cabin, Carolyn beheld two TV tables pushed together and draped with a lacy cloth. A single rose in a vase sat between two candles. Glasses of Madeira and a a saucer of sugar cookies shaped like seabirds waited to be shared.

Tweaking his ear, Daniel admitted, "It is not the finest array I've ever put together for a lady, but - "

"It is perfect." She leaned in and kissed his cheek. "Thank you. I've said before, it is the company shared, not what they share."

"And, we have shared so much over these last five years, have we not, my darling?" he whispered, giving her a more significant kiss.

When they broke away, he escorted her to the make-shift dining room and seated her with as much care as if they had been in the finest restaurant in Boston.

"To another five years, times ten at least," Carolyn toasted, lifting her glass.

"At the minimum," the ghost agreed. After the first sip, he remarked, "You know, I bet only a few people in the world celebrate an anniversary such as this, the date they moved into a home."

"It's their loss that they don't have a house so worth celebrating," she countered, a twinkle lighting her eyes.

"Indeed." He swirled the liquor in his glass, then looked at her. "It is ironic that it is TODAY we celebrate."

Carolyn's brows lifted. "Oh?"

"Yes, you see, my dearest, until September 21, 1968, I considered that particular date with as much apprehension as other people might Friday the thirteenth. Though, after Claymore's birth on that latter date, I began to see the merit of what I had dismissed as a 'stupidstition' as Candy refers to that sort of thing."

Intrigued, Carolyn leaned forward, "Why did you hate this day?"

Smiling to himself, Daniel knew he had selected the right gift for his lady; a new story. "Though I did not make much of the fact in the Memoirs, it has a long history of ill events befalling me, starting with the first illness severe enough to keep me home from school. Just a few days before, I had skipped school, feigning some malady, but then, I truly became sick. Aunt Violet had caught me out on the faked ailment, and I swear, she looked as smug as she did worried, or at least nearly. Told me to remember the date I had learned that lies have a way of catching you up. And I did. One year later, I fell from a tree ... "

"Monkey puzzle?"

"Madam, you would not allow Jonathan or Candy to interrupt," he chided teasingly.

"Sorry."

"That will cost you a kiss, later," he tried to look stern. "Now, as I was saying, one year later, I fell from an oak tree. Though nothing but my pride broke, I was rather sore. Several years passed, and the first girl that I saw as something other than an annoyance; I believe the term for what I felt would be crush, broke my heart by moving away on September 21. It was also on that date that Aunt Violet fell ill, though not the same year. Horatio Figg got drunk and ran us into a storm on another September 21. Not every one of them was terrible, but enough that I grew to loathe the day, though I never told anyone, not even Sean, until now." He sighed. "When I discovered you lot were moving in on that ill fated date, it only seemed to confirm my fears."

"Had I known, maybe we could have come a day sooner, or later ... " Carolyn began.

With a gentle smile, Daniel shook his head. "No, my love. It was perfect and right. You see, you, Candy, Jonathan, Martha, and Scruffy redeemed the day and from here on out, September 21 is a joyous date in my heart."


End file.
